Some Bills that just won’t go away… will hurt business!

Hey there Fun People !!!

One thing that most people don’t know is that Bills that are introduced into the U.S. Congress or Senate just don’t go away after a period of time but get “caught up” in committees for what seems like, and at times is, forever.

The problem with that is that these bills sit on the back burner until the legislators feel that they might have the chance of passing and then they bring them back up in hopes that they can get them through. 

The following bills are again raising their head above the murky waters of federal politics, in hopes of passing.

These are Bills that you REALLY need to know as they are very damaging to family and small business alike to the point that, if passed, I can see where it could lead to the closing of many of our businesses.

It should also be known that often times these damaging bills to business are attached to other bills that they know will pass and therefore are passed without people even knowing that they are there till it’s too late.

The Family Business Chamber of Commerce opposes these Bills and is making that opposition known to both the US Congress and Senate.

Join the rest of us in Family Business Chamber of Commerce to help your voice be heard on these types of issues.   Its only $10 a month and will go a long way to help YOU be heard as well as to network with other family businesses and a host of other benefits of belonging to this national chamber of commerce.  

www.familybusinesscc.com     

Let me start with H.R 2460 that was introduced on May 18^th, 2009. This bill is one of the ones now being revisited to see if they can bring it back on the floor of the congress.  

H.R.2460 (May 18, 2009)

Healthy Families Act (Introduced in House - IH)

In a Nutshell:

The act would require employers to permit employees to earn up to 56 hours of paid sick time including paid time for family care.  “An employer shall permit each employee employed by the employer to earn not less than 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.  An employer shall not be required to permit an employee to earn, under this section, more than 56 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, unless the employer chooses to set a higher limit.”

Workers can also use sick days to care for a sick family member, to obtain preventative or diagnostic treatment or to seek help if they are victims of domestic violence. Small employers with fewer than 15 employees are exempt from the Act and employers can require workers to provide documentation supporting any request for leave longer than three consecutive days.

Definition of employer: An employer is any “person” engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce who employs 15 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

(So does this mean that in a family business every member of the family that has influence in the business can be held liable?  (see Liability below)

Covered employees: Part time employees are included. If the normal workweek of such an employee is less than 40 hours, the employee shall earn paid sick time based upon that normal work week. For the purpose of counting employees for coverage, an employee is basically anybody on the payroll for any amount of time. This aspect of the definition has its roots in the Fair Labor Standards Act definition which is much broader than other employee definitions such as those found under equal opportunity laws. Employees will be eligible to earn paid sick time at commencement of employment.

Use of sick leave: An employee shall be entitled to use the earned paid sick time beginning the 60th calendar day following commencement of employment. After that 60th day, the employee may use the paid time as it is earned. An employer is permitted to loan paid sick time to an employee in advance of the earning of the time by the employee. Paid sick time earned shall carry over from one calendar year to the next; however an employer does not have to permit an employee to accrue more than 56 hours of paid sick time at a given time.

Liability: The bill provides for a civil action to recover damages by employees, individuals or their representative for and on behalf of the employees or individuals; or

the employees or individuals and others similarly situated.

(This could be interpreted as the ability for the employee, and each of the employees family or any other that has been impacted by any perceived violation of this act to sue the employer.)

Just think about the implication that this will have on your business if it passes.  I noted in the bill that there is no clause for employer hardship. 

There are a HUGE number of Red Flags in this Bill and with luck it will again go back into the basement of the committee.

My next posting will be another Bill that is being revived… stay tuned!

Tell then,

Have a Great Day and a Profitable Week

Remember to stop by the Family Chamber of Commerce at www.familybusinesscc.com

Rich